Venipuncture, whether for the drawing of blood or the introduction of medication, nourishment, and the like, necessitates a rather high degree of skill if the discomfiture to the patient and trauma to the skin and blood vessel, usually a vein, are to be minimized.
The major problems encountered in venipuncture arise from the inherent characteristics of veins with the difficulties varying from patient to patient, and in fact from vein to vein of the same patient. Such problems include the tendency of veins to move as the needle is being inserted or for that matter after the insertion of the needle, the tendency for some veins to collapse, while others curve or follow a circuitous path which makes proper needle alignment extremely difficult.
Frequently the caregiver will attempt some degree of vein manipulation or stabilization by direct finger contact. However the possibility of self puncturing makes such a procedure, in most circumstances, highly undesirable and potentially dangerous.
While various mechanical means have been devised for vein stabilization or positioning, such devices tend to be rather elaborate, requiring in many instances a positive mounting to the arm or the like. Known devices also tend to have limited utility insofar as being capable of accommodating, with a single instrument, the many circumstances which will normally arise with different patients as well as the particular veins which are to be positioned, stabilized and retained during venipuncture.